Send us a text TAP is back with another live podcast for ASTRO 2025! Well, sort of. The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) didn't make it to the meeting this year and we were missing our time with our friends! We invited Drs. Laura Dover, Jamie Pawlowski, and Jeff Ryckman to hang out and discuss some of the new data from this year's meeting. Here are the studies we discussed: 1. RADCOMP 2. NRG BN001 3. NOM-ERA 4. PACE C / GU005 5. NRG GU006 6. LUNAR 7. EXTEND&...

Send us a text The Accelerators co-host Dr. Matt Spraker is joined by two experts in brachytherapy for brain tumors, Radiation Onocologist and CMO of GT Medical Technologies Dr. Michael Garcia, MD, MS and Neurosurgeon Dr. Simon Hanft, MD, FAANS. We first review the origin story of GammaTile, an evolution of the practice of brachytherapy for brain tumors. Simon then shares how he has deployed GammaTile in his practice. We dive in to patient selection, how the design facilitates a shallow...

Send us a text Welcome to Season 4! The Accelerators (Dr. Matt Spraker and Cameron Tharp, MPH, RT(T)) kick it off with a sequel to our prior podcast on the Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist (APRT) role. We host friends-of-the-show Drs. Join Luh and Marsha Haley, Radiation Oncologists who bring important past experiences and unique expertise to the discussion. We kick off by examining some articles from the Spring 2025 issue of ASRT's Radiation Therapist: Caldwell and Lee...

Send us a text The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host the 2025 ACRO candidates for Vice President/President-Elect in the first ever radiation oncology election debate! Well, it's more like a friendly discussion, but Simul asked them their opinions on 4 great topics. What differentiates ACRO from other radiation oncology societies? Can you explain ACRO's position on physician supervision of radiation oncology services over the years? Why link accredita...

Send us a text Accelerators co-host Dr. Matt Spraker is joined by radiation oncologists Drs. Bobby Koneru and Mudit Chowdhary for an update on low dose radiotherapy for osteoarthritis! Dr. Koneru is a radiation oncologist in Freeport, IL and prolific social media educator on benign indications. Dr. Chowdhary is a radiation oncologist at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and a friend of TAP (see his prior episodes). We start by discussing their ASTRO 2024 panel on benign indication...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Dr. Stacy Wentworth, Radiation Oncologist, Author, and Podcaster! We discuss her career and how she developed her voice as a physician content creator. Do not miss her Less Radical narrative podcast about the life of Bernie Fisher, it is a masterpiece! In this episode, we cover our experiences with our evolving careers. As a radiation oncologists solidify their clinical and technical expertise, how can they expand their ability to hel...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Dr. Donald Abrams, MD, Medical and Integrative Oncologist at the UCSF Oscher Center for Integrative Health. Donald offers a comprehensive review of a very poorly understood topic! We review the history of cannabis regulation in the US and globally, different delivery forms, and Donald's observations throughout his oncology practice. We additionally discuss indications for use in cancer care; is smoking cannabis safer than taking sugar...

The Accelerators Podcast co-host Dr. Simul Parikh is heading back around the globe, this time to discuss breast cancer! He hosts Drs. Anna Kirby (Royal Marsden Hospital & Institute of Cancer Research), Sushil Beriwal (Allegheny Health Network, Varian Medical Systems), and Revathy Krishnamurthy (Tata Memorial Centre), Radiation/Clinical Oncologists from the UK, US, and India.The group kicks off it's discussion by comparing and contrasting breast cancer screening processes in their respecti...

Cameron Tharp, MPH, RTT joins The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh), and we host radiation therapist Shaun Caldwell, EdD, RTT to discuss the Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist (APRT) role. Here are some things we discussed during the show:Mohan et al. on record and verify systems (1984)American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT)American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)Health Education England Advanced Clinical Practice DefinitionHere are some peer re...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Christine Gnaster, MS, DABR, FAAPM, Vice President of Product of Radformation and medical physicist Chelsea Page-Robertson for a #MedEd discussion of AutoContour, ClearCheck, and the use of AI in Radiation Oncology. Christine kicks us off with an approachable overview of how tools like AutoContour actually work. We discuss how Radformation have trained hundreds of models to help you contour in clinic. She also shares how they are...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) team up with Vision RT for the first of two tech-forward episodes! We are joined by Mike Tallhamer, MSc DABR, Chief of Radiation Physics at Advent Health for a masterclass on Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT). We discuss how VisionRT has leveraged SGRT to enhance the radiotherapy planning and delivery. After reviewing SGRT basics, we discuss how SimRT can be used to improve the patient experience: no set up tattoos and "open mask" r...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Sam Mazin, Ph.D. and Sean Shirvani, MD, CTO and CMO of RefleXion. This Rad Onc startup have created a linear accelerator with on board PET/CT. This allows for SCINTIX biology-guided radiotherapy for bone and lung disease. Sam and Sean join the show to share their story in medical entrepreneurship, discuss the technology, and their vision for the future of our field. Why is SCINTIX any better than fusing a PET/CT to a standar...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Radiation Oncologists and elite GI educators Drs. Krish Jethwa and Nina Sanford.We discuss the exciting phase III ESOPEC study presented at ASCO 2024. The study demonstrated an overall survival benefit for perioperative FLOT chemotherapy versus pre-operative chemoradiation therapy for GE junction adenocarcinoma. Krish's ESOPEC thread on XNina's ESOPEC thread on XKrish on TAP discussing esophageal radiotherapy dosingASCO Daily New...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host a very special guest! Cameron Tharp, M.P.H., R.T.T. has joined the TAP team to help us out with show development and offer new perspective to our content. We introduce Cameron and tease future discussions on a hot radiation therapy topic: Advanced Practice Radiation Therapy.Of course, Simul makes Cameron sit in The Hot Seat. Here are some resources as well as some other things mentioned in the show:Oliveria et al., Adva...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) team up with Radformation for a very special #ESTRO24 episode! We host Dr. Dora Correia, a Portuguese Radiation Oncologist currently working at Cantonal Hospital Aarau in Switzerland and EORTC Y-ECI ROSC Chair as well as Ana Rato, Medical Dosimetrist and Clinical Success Manager with Radformation. In honor of ESTRO 2024, we discuss a hot topic for the conference... reirradiation! We first compare and contrast patterns of referral and pract...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Dr. Clifford Hudis, medical oncologist and CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. We discuss a wide range of topics surrounding organizational leadership. While we examined the topic through a physician's lens, anyone that works in healthcare will love this conversation! Leadership coaching, physician-led healthcare organizations, remote work and virtual care, engaging law makers and the public, and more! Lea...

In this episode, The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host Mary Calys, DPT, a lymphedema physical therapist, and Katelyn Nees. They are the Senior Clinical Specialist and Senior Market Development Director for Tactile Medical, respectively. Mary and Katelyn update our medical knowledge on the etiology and management of lymphedema with a special focus on breast and head & neck cancers. Do not miss the awesome resources they provided for this show: a high-quality slide deck...

At the end of last year, Dr. Jason Beckta published a docu-podcast about clinical supervision of radiotherapy services (parts one, two, and three). The series covers supervision terms, legal precedent, and dispels the misinformation shared by conflicted parties. In this episode, The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) join up with Jason to interview the famous Dr. Todd Scarbrough, the radiation oncologist at the center of supervision lore.Todd shares his story and we discu...

The Accelerators (Drs. Matt Spraker and Simul Parikh) host early career radiation oncologists Drs. Austin Sim, Anna Paulsson, and Avinash Chaurasia to discuss... early career (EC) issues in radiation oncology! It's no secret that this is a passion topic for TAP. One of our first episodes dished out practical tips for new attendings (and new residents), and we've since given an independent voice to our EC peers on a wide range of topics: boards, starting families, finding your place in communi...

It's another Accelerators journal club with Dr. Simul Parikh!In this episode Simul reviews a recent industry sponsored publication in Advances in Radiation Oncology. Image guidance improves freedom from recurrence rate after superficial radiation therapy for non-melanoma skin cancerThe article retrospectively compares patients with skin cancer treated with image-guided superficial radiotherapy to other previously published cohorts. Such a definitive title for a retrospective study! Well, ther...